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At Bank of America, we're committed to helping grow local economies and strengthen the communities we serve. By combining local support and expertise with our national reach, we're connecting customers and communities across the country to the resources they need to thrive.

miami-milamsdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets/LM_088_242x167.jpg|Miami Milam’s|How a Family's Market Feeds the Economy See how Allen Milam and his father realized their dream by opening Milam's Market 27 years ago.|| Investing and Empowering Biotech Innovations in Massachusetts|/partnering-locally/high-res-bio.html|_SELF||Ozinga has been a Part of Chicago's Growth and Iconic Skyline for Generations|/partnering-locally/ozinga.html|_SELF||A Sweet Dream: The Best of Chocolates Under One Roof|/partnering-locally/cocoa-bella-chocolates.html|_SELF||Lean, Green, Clean: Investing in San Diego as a Hub of Clean Tech|/partnering-locally/cleantech.html|_SELF

Allen Milam, President, Milam’s Market: My father was in the wholesale grocery store business. I was twenty-one years old. My father and I were sitting together and we’d share with each other that we each had a dream of one day owning our own store. And the plan was, well… you get in there and learn retail and then we’ll open up a store together. Eight years later, in 1984, we formed a company and opened up our first store here in Miami. I still remember putting the key in for the first time, and the jitters I had… it was nerve wracking. We didn’t have enough people. We thought we knew what we were doing, and found out we didn’t understand what was ahead. We worked our way through it… hard work, dedication and twenty-seven years later we now have four stores.

Tyler Milam, Store Manager, Milam’s Market: You know, my dad is my role model. He’s a family man, but he’s a workingman. He’s put a lot into this company and I respect that. I enjoy working together as a family… as a team. Building something from the ground up… we want our costumers when they come in… they don’t have to look at dates… they don’t have examine the piece of meat. We want them to grab it off the shelf and go home with complete satisfaction… that when they shop at Milam’s, they’re buying quality. It’s pretty much all about the customers.

Allen Milam, President, Milam’s Market: Each store caters to a little bit different clientele. We offer a little bit different product in that store than we do others.

Angie Herrera, Data Processing Manager, Milam’s Market: For example, store number four, which is on the Isle, is a great community and is a great area for Central American items. And we bring that to the store and it’s right there for them. We give them the opportunity to have everything in one place.

Allen Milam, President, Milam’s Market: When we were looking to expand, we needed a big bank to help us in a big way. And, Bank of America worked out a deal for us, which made growing a lot easier.

Sig Birriel, President, Senior Client Manager, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch: When we first starting doing business with Milam’s, we assisted them with some financing, with some leasing as well. That allows them to grow the number of stores that they have, create employment… create better opportunity for folks within the community and deliver their services and product to the neighborhood.

Allen Milam, President, Milam’s Market: Bank of America has always been there for us. They made sure we had the money that we needed to build our business to grow our business… to expand… to remodel… to do whatever we needed to do. We’ve never lost that excitement about building relationships with our customers, with out associates, with our each other. It’s a family business and we work and live like a family. And for twenty-seven years it’s worked.

How a Family's Market Feeds the Economy /en-us/partnering-locally/milam.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402See how we helped a Miami grocer feed his business, as well as the local economy./en-us/partnering-locally/milam.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/partnering-locally/content-targeting-homepage-tiles/milam_088_400x400.jpgMiami Milam’s

miami-overtown-youthdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets/LM_096_242x167.jpg|Miami Overtown Youth|Making a Difference in the Lives of South Florida's Children ||

Tina Brown: Executive Director, Overtown Youth Center: I grew up right here in the community of Overtown, and I could have only wished that there an Overtown Youth Center when I was growing up. In the midst of drugs and alcohol and gang violence… this is really a safe haven for kids.

Alonzo Mouring, Chairman Emeritus, Alonzo Mourning Charities: Every child has the ability; just many of them don’t have the resources. So, we have coordinators that are able to tap into and identify those strengths that the kids have, you know, and help them expand those strengths, so they can some day understand exactly “ Ok, this is what I am good at, this is what I want to be”.

Tina Brown: Executive Director, Overtown Youth Center: If they’re having trouble reading or if they’re having a bad day… we’re there to assist children when they’re in school. When they come here we start homework, and then move on to art, dance, drama, music — an array of enrichment services.

Margaret Denson, Parent: Being a single mom, working… a lot of times you can’t get to the school. A lot of times you don’t know what’s going on in the school. So having these advisors here is a blessing.

Tina Brown: Executive Director, Overtown Youth Center: We have a parent enrichment program and it’s mandatory that parents attend at least once a month because if we have better parents, we have better kids. In 2008, when we started to see many of our local funders cut back, Bank of America stepped up. We were awarded a grant for $200,000. In addition to that… after being involved in the emerging leaders training from Bank of America, I knew that I am destined to change the lives of children. That program gave me the tools to do it in an effective manner.

Maria Alonso: Sr. Vice President & Corp. Social Responsibility Manager, Bank of America, Miami-Dade & Monroe Counties: Our involvement really goes beyond writing a check. That’s the least of what we do. Bank of America is really personally involved in fund raising and looking at the long-term growth of this center and the model… so that it really has sustainable impact on our community.

Tina Brown: Executive Director, Overtown Youth Center: This is about connecting to a child and instilling in them the confidence they need to know that they can make it.

Making a Difference in the Lives of South Florida's Children/en-us/partnering-locally/overtown-youth.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402See how we helped the Overtown Youth Center make a difference in lives of South Florida’s children./en-us/partnering-locally/overtown-youth.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/partnering-locally/content-targeting-homepage-tiles/overtown400x400.jpgMiami Overtown Youth

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